Touch of the Sun

The next morning I woke to the sun light shining in through the window. Blinking I realized that I was still in Anni’s room, but I was alone in bed, but the sheets were still warm. Rolling over and getting off the bed I noticed that there was a note on the night stand. It read:

Crystal

I had to go help Gentle Light with the situation that happened yesterday. I’m sorry that I had to leave you alone in bed, but you are more than welcome to explore or just head down to the kitchen. Sous is working on breakfast stuff so he can whip you up something.

Anni

P.S. Last night was awesome.

After reading the note, and blushing at the last line, I headed to Anni’s personal bathroom. Taking care of business, brushing my mane and washing up, took me a little bit but when I was done I felt much better. Trotting down stairs I noticed that the common area was a quite busy, most of the ponies were eating breakfast or talking to each other, though I noticed that the changeling was sitting between two ponies and nuzzling them in a loving way. The thing that stuck me about that was the changeling wasn’t disguised. A couple of the ponies waved to me as I walked past the common room. I waved back before heading to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen I noticed a griffon talking to Sous. Seeing me, Sous waved me over. “Crystal, I would like you to meet Swift Claw, one of the two griffons that live here.”

“It’s nice to meet you Crystal,” Swift Claw said, turning towards me which revealed a large scar across his chest, which looked more like a burn than a scar.

“Like wise Mr. Claw.” I said before turning to Sous, “And good morning to you Sous, I hope it’s been treating you well.”

Swift burst out laughing, “I see why you like her Sous, she is very polite in spite of the fact that she is standing next to a griffon who is literally twice her size, and please, call me Swift.” Swift said, turning back to me, “Sous was telling me that you are quite the inquisitive mare.”

I smiled, albeit a little nervously, “That’s true, I tend to ask a lot of questions, but that's because this is the first time I have really had a place where I can be free and be myself.”

Swift nodded, “I head your story from Gen, and she said that you were very lucky, but I don’t believe in luck. Now karma, that’s something to believe in. You must have done something good to be rescued by the most motherly pony other than Princess Celestia.” He looked down at me with a smile, his red eyes looking into mine. That caught my attention, he had red eyes too.

Before I could really think about what I was saying I blurted out “You have red eyes too?!” This question got a burst of laughter from the griffon.

“Yes, little mare, I do have red eyes like you. While the trait is rare in griffons, it is more so in ponies which I can guess caused some problems for you. Don’t worry, the common pony is less likely to react to them than the snobby nobles.” Swift replied, a smile on his face and mirth sparkling in his eyes.

“That’s kind of a relief, I was always worried that they might cause a problem again.” I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hey Crystal, what do you want for breakfast?” Sous asked looking away from the stove for a moment.

I said the first thing that came to my mind, “Avocado, cheddar and salsa scramble.” I quickly added, “With toast.”

“Sure thing,” he said before turning back to the stove.

“Well Crystal, I have to get going, but perhaps I will see you later,” Swift said to me, turning towards the exit.

“Okay, see you later Swift.” I replied, a smile dancing onto my face. He started heading out before quickly turning around.

“By the way, you may want to brush your teeth before coming down next time, you know,” he started chucking, “so you don’t smell like mare cum.” This got me blushing big time as he headed out the door.

Sous was chuckling a bit, “Don’t worry Crystal, it’s not really noticeable to ponies, but griffons have better a sense of smell.” He used his spatula to mix the contents of the pan, “and don’t worry, Swift likes to embarrass ponies a lot.”

“I can see that,” I say with a light chuckle leaving, my blush hadn’t faded much.

“He may normally seem to be domineering to ponies who he isn’t close with, but he really does have a soft heart,” Sous said with a wistful sigh.

“Sounds like there’s something more to that than you’re saying,” I state with a knowing look as he dishes up my scramble.

“That there is Crystal,” turning to me with my food, which I take into my magic, “he and I have had a fare few encounters. At first it was just as friends, seeing as we both have a love for exotic foods.” His eyes were overcome by a wistful glaze, “he was the first person here at the manor who I befriended. Back then I had just started to cook for the manor, and he had been away on a supply trip. When he first walked into the kitchen I was taken aback at his size, which is really an understatement, as I was I cowering behind the serving line.”

Sighing Sous shook his head, “He quickly apologized for scaring me and was about to leave when I asked him not to. I knew that there was a reason he was in the kitchen so I offered to help him with what he wanted cooked. He asked if I could cook up a hotdog, which in retrospect wasn’t that surprising, but at the time I was a little surprised. I did it anyway, and he thanked me for it before heading out to the gardens. That was the beginning of our friendship.”

It was kind of surprising that Sous seemed to have no problem cooking meat, but serving a griffon or two probably had a hoof in that.

“After a year our friendship grew into something more. It was Hearth’s Warming Eve when he asked me if I would like to go out with him. it was great, and we had a wonderful time, but things weren’t meant to be. While we got along well and certainly enjoyed each other’s company the romance aspect didn’t work out so well. With him handling most of the supply runs and me always cooking or preparing something food wise we didn’t have much time for us. So we decided to keep it casual and we have gotten together for fun times whenever we had some time off.”

“That’s one heck of a story, but I had better let you get back to your work. Given how many things you need to take care of.” I said nodding towards the pots on the stove where soups were simmering.

“Alright, enjoy the…” The look on his face was priceless when he noticed that I had already eaten my breakfast.

“Thanks, it was wonderful.” I said with a smile, before floating the dish over to the dish machine, waving good bye, and heading out of the kitchen.

As soon as I stepped out of the kitchen I saw Gentle standing there, “Crystal, it’s time for you to learn the other half of what Sunshine Manor is all about, also to meet Sweet Blossom, Iron Claws, and Shimmering Stars. Their our disruption team.”